If you’re going to get a printer, why settle for one that can only print? A multifunction or all-in-one printer will let you get a lot of utility out of a single device. While most of them will primarily do the heaviest lifting in printing, they often have a bit of muscle for copying and scanning as well. Some excel as photo printers, and a few even keep faxing functionality around.Now, perhaps unfortunately, there are many multifunction printers on the market, and they can vary in quality dramatically. Some will let you churn out documents at a blazing pace while others might keep you waiting on prints of anything less than a couple pages. A slower printer might be fine for you, but then you’ll also need to be sure that it doesn’t need a ton of maintenance between each periodic use. So, it pays to be sure you’re getting a good printer regarless of whether you’re going for the high-end or looking for a budget pick.We’ll guide you through a variety of quality printers that are well suited to varying needs, whether you’re running a hectic home office or just print a few photos a month.
TL;DR These are the Multifunction Printers:
1. HP OfficeJet Pro 9015
Best Multifunction Printer
Printer type: Inkjet Max printing speed: 22 ppm (ISO), 32 ppm (draft) Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI Max copying resolution: 600 DPI Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI Power consumption: 1.2-30W Weight: 20.43 pounds Size: 17.3″ x 20.46″ x 10.94″
A lot of multifunction printers appear to trade form for functionality. The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015 offers a bit of both. This new printer delivers a style that looks far more modern than most devices in its class, yet it keeps up with the competition in terms of what it can do.The HP OfficeJet Pro 9015 is ready to handle all the tasks you’ll throw at it with printing, copying, scanning, and even faxing supported. It can print out a 22-page document in a minute, and a 35-page auto-feeder keeps it ready to go for your next print job, big or small, and can handle two-side printing, copying, and scanning automatically. With a Wi-Fi connection and a built-in color touchscreen, using this printer with all of your devices is easy.
2. HP Envy Pro 6455
Best Budget Multifunction Printer
Printer type: Thermal Inkjet Ink Cartridges: 1 x Tri-Color, 1 x Black Max printing speed: 10 ppm (black), 7 ppm (color) Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI Max paper size: 8.5″ x 14″ Max copying resolution: 300 x 300 DPI Max scanning resolution: 1,200 x 1,200 DPI Power consumption: 0.10 Watts (Off), 4.0 Watts (Ready), 1.70 Watts (Sleep) Weight: 15.4 pounds Size: 17″ x 14.2″ x 6.8″
The HP Envy Pro 6455 comes in at a low price for a printer that can do it all. You’ll get printing at a decent clip of 10 prints a minute in black or seven in color. The printer also supports copying and scanning, with copies at a 300 x 300 DPI resolution and scanning at a crisp 1,200 x 1,200 DPI. And, if you need to send a fax, you’ll be pleased to know the HP Envy Pro 6455 still supports that function even as many printers leave it behind.You do miss out on direct connectivity to USB drives and multimedia cards with the HP Envy Pro 6455, but it makes up for that lack of support for physical media with support for wireless connections over dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0. This gives you an easy way to use the printer with multiple computers, smartphones, and tablets without having to juggle a USB cable.
3. Epson Workforce Pro WF-4740
Best Color Laser Alternative Inkjet Printer
Printer type: Inkjet Max printing speed: 24 ppm Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI Max scanning resolution: 1,200 DPI (optical), 9,600 dpi (interpolated) Power consumption: 0.2-20W Weight: 26 pounds Size: 16.7″ x 19.8″ x 13.0″
Laser printers can be great in an office setting, spitting out great looking documents with haste, but they get pricy if you also want to get some color in the mix. That’s where the Epson Workforce Pro WF-4740 can save you. This printer uses inkjet technology but can still offers a speedy 24 ppm print speed in monochrome or 22 ppm in color, letting you take full advantage of the dual trays capable of holding up to 500 sheets of paper.While it’s churning out those prints, it also promises to use less power than competing laser printers. A 50-sheet automatic document feeder will help you manage print jobs, and can also handle duplex printing, so you can save paper and time. If you need to scan, copy, or fax, it can also automatically handle those even for two-sided documents.
4. Brother MFCL2750DW
Best Multifunction Monochrome Laser Printer
Printer type: monochrome laser Max printing speed: 36 ppm Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI Max copying resolution: 600 DPI Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI Power consumption: 5.1-490W Weight: 24.46 pounds Size: 16.1″ x 15.7″ x 12.5″
The Brother MFCL2750DW monochrome laser printer is ready to be your office workhorse on a budget. Assuming you can live without color prints and faxing, it’s hard to beat Brother’s laser multifunction printer.The company’s laser printers are practically bulletproof, and this particular model adds copying and scanning on top of its already sturdy foundation. Plus, replacing cartridges doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and unless you’re on a team of four printing gigantic legal briefs every day, you won’t have to do it often either.
And best of all, if you don’t print nearly as often as you scan, you’ll never have to worry about ink nozzles drying or clogging up from non-use. All that and you’ve got Wi-Fi connectivity, a blazing fast 36 ppm and a toner saver mode that ekes even more efficiency out of every cartridge.
5. Canon Pixma TS9520
Best Multifunction Printer for Photos
Printer type: Inkjet Max printing speed: 15 ppm Max printing resolution: 4,800 x 1,200 DPI Max copying resolution: 600 DPI Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI Weight: 21.3 pounds Size: 18.5″ x 14.5″ x 7.6″
The Pixma TS9520 from Canon is an easy choice if your workload skews more towards printing photos. Thanks to its five separate ink cartridges, you get gorgeous prints in a pretty convenient package that also includes a high-res scanner for importing photos shot on film to your editing program of choice.Thats all in addition to mobile device printing via Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Printmaking this photo printer perfect for offloading those shots from your iPhone or Android phone, respectively. Of course, photos taken with a DSLR, mirrorless camera, or point-and-shoot camera will look even better thanks to their bigger lenses and higher-resolution sensors.
6. Brother HL-L23400W
Best Multifunction Printer for Documents
Printer type: monochrome laser Max printing speed: 27 ppm Max printing resolution: 2,400 x 600 DPI Max copying resolution: 600 DPI Max scanning resolution: 1200 DPI Power consumption: 5.4-537W Weight: 15.21 pounds Size: 17.4″ x 11.3″ x 19.8″
Yeah, this breaks the rules a bit, but if you just need to print term papers, receipts, and various other non-glamorous computer-related tasks, a simple laser printer is hard to beat. The Brother HL-23400W is a personal favorite of mine.The minimal, rounded design of this printer doesn’t draw attention to itself the two paper guides thankfully fold flatbut it’s a dorm room or home office hot rod where it counts: printing speed and cost of ownership. We’re talking 26 ppm and the toner will last you between 1,200 – 2,600 pages depending on whether you go for the standard- or high-yield toner, respectively. I personally print lots of documents for work and I’ve purchased exactly three high-yield toner cartridges since 2011. The pack-in cart that came with my Brother HL-L23400W lasted almost two years.
Automatic duplex printing is here too, as is Wi-Fi. If you can live without the latter though, you can save $80 by going with the Brother HL-L2300D to drive the value proposition even higher. Best of all? No matter which you choose, neither have a crappy touchscreen.
What to look for in a Multifunction Printer
When it comes to multifunction printers there are really only two options: inkjet or laser.Inkjet printers work just like they sound by spraying ink through a print head full of nozzles. They’re fantastic for printing high-quality photos with rich colors and sharp details, but they aren’t particularly fast at spitting out pages. Inkjet printers also often cost less than their laser-based counterparts, but you’ll end up paying more for new ink cartridges in the long run as they don’t last as long as toner cartridges.
Laser printers utilize a process of rolling toner onto pages and baking this powder onto them using lasers, which is why the copies that come out of laser printers are usually warm. The biggest advantage of laser printers is they can produce a lot of prints in a short amount of time.
The bad news is laser printers and toner cartridges are usually more expensive than inkjet tanks, especially if you’re looking to buy one that also prints in color. That said, toner cartridges often last much ink cartridges, so you likely be able to use the one that came with the printer for more than a year even if you’re making a lot of copies every day.
Picking the right type of multifunction printer comes down to considering how often and what you’ll be printing.
If you won’t be printing any photos or color documents, a monochrome laser all-in-one is much more suited to your needs than one geared towards high-quality photos. And if you stumbled down here looking for something to just print documents, quickly, always go for a laser printer.
Timothy J. Seppala is a Detroit-based freelance reporter who has crammed a 5.1 surround system into every place he’s lived, regardless of bedroom size. Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark